The Department of Justice is recognizing the efforts of local law enforcement in the fight against opioid addiciton, honoring Canton Police Detective Mike Rastetter and the work of the department's Stark Outreach Support team.

The S.O.S. team consists of Detective Rastetter, who works VICE, a social worker and a nurse who connect with recent overdose victims and help get them into treatment.

S.O.S. has been operational for a little over a year, and in that time the city of Canton has seen a decrease from 55 overdoses in 2016 to 31 last year.

Detective Rastetter was recently in D.C. to receive the DOJ awad for innovation in community policing.

Summit County Common Pleas Court has partnered with Greenleaf Family Center, to provides addiction and mental health assessments for low-risk criminal offenders, in an effort to steer them into intervention and recovery--instead of jail.

The latest numbers from the state are out on opioid overdose deaths in Ohio -- and increase of more than one thousand dead by drug OD from 2015 to 2016. Breaking it down by county, Summit County had 25.5 deaths per 100,000 population to lead the greater Akron area, followed by Portage, Stark, Wayne and Medina County in the teens. The worst in our ara was Trumbull County with 34.2 deaths per 100,000. The deadliest county in Ohio is Montgomery -- the Dayton area -- with 42.5 deaths per hundred thousand.

The deadliest drug mixture comes from Fentanyl-related overdoses, nearly two thirds of the total.

READ the entire report at the .pdf link at the bottom

Local Counties

Stark 16.0 per hundred thousand population

Wayne 15.0

Portage 17.1

Medina 13.8

Cuyahoga/Cleveland 23.4

Mahoning/Youngstown 25.1

Trumbull/Warren 34.2

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(Ohio Department of Health) Ohio's opioid epidemic continued to evolve in 2016 with stronger drugs driving an increase in unintentional overdose deaths, according to a new report released by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH). The report shows a sharp rise in overdose deaths involving the opioid fentanyl, the emergence of more deadly fentanyl-related drugs like carfentanil, and indications that cocaine is now being used with fentanyl and other opiates. The report also contains some promising news – the fewest prescription opioid overdose deaths since 2009.

"The continued increase in opioid-related deaths reaffirms that we still have much work to do, but Ohio is seeing important progress in reducing the number of prescription opioids available for abuse and prescription-related overdose deaths," said Dr. Mark Hurst, medical director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and interim medical director of ODH. "This progress is significant because prescription opioid abuse is frequently a gateway to heroin and fentanyl use later on."

Overdose deaths increased from 3,050 in 2015 to 4,050 last year, and fentanyl and related drugs were involved in 58.2 percent of them. By comparison, fentanyl was involved in 37.9 percent of overdose deaths in 2015, 19.9 percent in 2014, 4 percent in 2013 and 3.9 percent 2012. Illegally produced fentanyl can be hundreds of times stronger than heroin, and carfentanil and other related drugs can be even stronger.

With the emergence of carfentanil in 2016, the fentanyl-related drug was involved in 340 overdose deaths, most of them during the second half of the year. The number of cocaine-related overdose deaths increased from 685 in 2015 to 1,109 in 2016 – a 61.9 percent increase. Of cocaine-related overdose deaths, 80.2 percent also involved an opiate, and 55.8 percent involved fentanyl and related opiates in particular.

Of all unintentional drug overdose deaths, the percentage of prescription opioid-related deaths declined for the fifth straight year in 2016, and the number of such deaths declined 15.4 percent from 667 in 2015 to 564 in 2016, the fewest since 2009. Opioid prescribing in Ohio declined for a fourth consecutive year in 2016, according to the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy. Between 2012 and 2016, the total number of opioids dispensed to Ohio patients decreased by 162 million doses or 20.4 percent. There was a 78.2 percent decrease in the number of people engaged in the practice of "doctor shopping" for controlled substances since 2012.

This progress corresponds with efforts to reduce the prescription opioid supply available for diversion and abuse by stepping up law enforcement efforts, working with medical professionals to establish opioid prescribing guidelines, and empowering prescribers and pharmacists to prevent opioid abuse using Ohio's prescription drug monitoring system, the Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System (OARRS).

Ohio is investing about $1 billion each year to help communities battle the scourge of drug abuse and addiction at the local level, including significant funding to help address treatment, prevention and law enforcement.

Ohio's new two-year state budget includes an additional $170 million to support local and state efforts to combat opioid abuse and overdose deaths. At this year's State of the State Address, Gov. John R. Kasich asked the Third Frontier Commission to provide up to $20 million to help bring new scientific breakthroughs to the battle against drug abuse and addiction. The Third Frontier Commission approved this request in May and will announce the first funded projects in December.

The state also is surging resources into communities hardest hit by Ohio's opioid epidemic.

The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services will receive up to $26 million a year during the next two years through the federal 21st Century Cures Act to help fight Ohio's opioid epidemic at the state and local levels. The funding will help support medication-assisted treatment; prevention; screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment; recovery supports; workforce devel­opment; and addressing secondary trauma among first responders (EMS personnel, firefighters, law enforcement, etc.).

In addition, members of the Governor's Opiate Action Team have met with local leaders in 20 Ohio communities that have the highest burden of drug overdoses to ensure that communities are mounting a coordinated response and taking advantage of the tools and resources that the state has made available. Promising local practices were identified during these visits and have helped inform the development of an updated Action Guide to Address Opioid Abuse as a resource for Ohio's communities.

Akron Police are investigating after a baby boy accidentally overdosed, forcing his older sibling to call 911 and responding paramedics to issue not one, but two doses of NARCAN, the opioid antidote that is administered through a nasal spray.

It happened Thursday evening about 6:30, police say, at a home on Gale Street in Akron. Upon arrival, paramedics found the 19-month-old boy unresponsive. NARCAN was administered at the home, but was ineffective. The boy was then transported to Akron Children's Hospital where a second dose of NARCAN was given to the child. Akron Police Lt. Rick Edwards says it's likely the child touched a baggy or some other packaging that was left out that had some opioid residue left on it. A toxicology report is being run to determine what type of opioid the boy was exposed to.

The mother was at home when Akron Police arrived, but she left. It was a few hours before Lt. Edwards with Akron PD says she showed up at Akron Children's Hospital. Police interviewed her and then found that she had a felony warrant out for her arrest out of Portage County on an unrelated theft charge.

As for Thursday's incident, Akron Police have not charged the mother with a crime, though Lt. Edwards says it is likely that she will be charged soon. She's currently in Portage County Jail on the theft charge.

The parents of a two-year-old who accidentally overdosed on a synthetic opiate back have been arrested, according to Akron Police.

On March 7th, around 1 a.m., 27-year-old Randy Boggs found the toddler unresponsive in the home and called 911. He and 21-year-old Catelynn Smiley of Akron are charged with felony child endangering. They've been booked in Summit County Jail.

Read the full press release from Akron Police below:

Child Endangering/Unintentional Overdose:

Detectives arrested the parents of the 2 year old that overdosed on a synthetic opiate around 1:00am on March 7, 2017. The 2 year old male was found unresponsive by the father at his residence in the 500 block of Brittain Road. Detectives charged Randy Boggs II, 27 and Catelynn Smiley, 21, both of Brittain Road, with felony child endangering. They were booked into the Summit County Jail.

Saturday, April 29th, marks National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, and Ohio's U.S. Senators are making sure Ohioans know where they can drop off their unused or expired prescriptions.

With more than 270 locations across the state, residents of Summit and the surrounding counties have a few options:

Summit

Akron

Springfield Township Police Department

2465 Canfield Road

Summit

Akron

Akron Metro Regional Transit Center Visitor's Parking Lot

631 S. Broadway Street

Summit

Akron

Summit County Sheriff's Office/Drug Unit

393 E. Turkeyfoot Lake Road

Summit

Akron

Bath Police Department

3864 W. Bath Road

Summit

Akron

Akron Children's Hospital Circular Driveway

215 W. Bowery Street

Summit

Barberton

The Old First Merit Building

480 West Tuscawaras

Summit

Copley

Copley Police Department

1280 Sunset Drive

Summit

Cuyahoga Falls

.

1900 23rd Street

Summit

Hudson

Hudson Acme Plaza, In Front Of The Acme Grocery Store

116 W. Streetsboro St.

Summit

Stow

Stow Police Department

3800 Darrow Rd

Summit

Tallmadge

Acme Fresh Market

600 South Avenue

Summit

Tallmadge

Tallmadge Police Department

53 Northeast Ave

Summit

Tallmadge

Giant Eagle

205 West Avenue

See the full press release with a link to all locations across the state below:

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Rob Portman (R-OH) announced more than 270 sites where Ohioans can safely dispose of unwanted and unused prescription drugs on “National Prescription Drug Take Back Day” on Saturday, April 29 from 10:00 AM to 2:00PM. National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in an effort to provide safe, convenient and responsible means for disposal of prescription drugs, while also educating the public about the potential for abuse and medications.

“Prescription drug abuse and misuse has devastated Ohio communities. Too often, individuals can get prescription drugs from the family medicine cabinet or from family and friends who no longer use the medicine they were legally prescribed,” Brown said. “That’s why this DEA-sponsored Drug Take Back Day is so important in Ohio. All prescription medications—especially addictive opioid painkillers—should be disposed of safely to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands.”

“Four out of five people addicted to opioids start out using prescription drugs. That’s why it’s so important to safely dispose of any and all unnecessary prescription medications,” said Portman. “I’m pleased that so many communities in our state are participating in this annual event and I urge all Ohioans to clean out their medicine cabinets and take advantage of Drug Take Back. Together, we can turn the tide of addiction and ensure that every Ohioan can reach their God-given potential.”

In April, Brown and Portman spoke jointly about their efforts to combat Ohio’s opioid epidemic. Brown has introduced the INTERDICT Act, legislation that would provide U.S. Customs and Border Protections (CBP) with additional hi-tech screening equipment and lab resources to detect fentanyl before it enters the U.S. Portman has introduced the Synthetics Trafficking & Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act, new legislation designed to help stop dangerous synthetic drugs like fentanyl and carfentanil from being shipped through our borders to drug traffickers here in the United States. Both bills work together to help block deadly synthetic opioids from reaching Ohio communities and are supported by both Senators.